Chapter 60

Amidst the watery eyes, amidst the tightening of her chest, amidst knowing that she'd miss her adopted brother, Talin pretended that everything would be alright. She leaned closer to the cake, and with one last look at Gem, blew the candles out, making the world darker than it already was.

"I didn't realize that it would be so dark here," Ayah said. Her voice was loud, bouncing on the invisible walls, hidden. It startled Talin right out of her thoughts.

They'd recently arrived...